Three Favorite Fragrant Plants

Lists. I hate ’em. “To Do”… “Don’t Forget”… “Note to Self”…. Lists aren’t much fun, in my experience. But I must say I do love a good listing of great plants. These listings help me to consider, to select, to purchase… and the resulting selections and purchases decorate and fragrance my garden and home beautifully.

My list of top picks for fragrant plants includes just three entries. Yes, narrowing down the list to three means that I cannot include Jasmine and Lavender. But I have faced challenges growing both, and those fragrances are better accessed by me in the form of lotions and creams. For the garden, easy growing, lightly-fragranced options are what I like best. Thus, my top-three list includes the following:

1. Clematis terniflora ‘Paniculata’, or Sweet Autumn Clematis
2. Ornamental Oregano ‘Kirigami’
3. Pelargonium graveolens, ‘Grey Lady Plymouth’ Scented Geranium

1—Sweet Autumn Clematis is a vigorous vining beauty with delicate-looking but long-lasting white flowers that bloom when they are needed most—in late summer and early fall, when everything else is turning golden and orange. Sweet Autumn Clematis has a honey-sweet fragrance… light, not overpowering, but noticeable. Sweet Autumn Clematis is perennial in zones 4-9, and it spreads beautifully along the ground. When propped up and secured, it climbs atop fences and other structures, bursting with white clouds of blooms in September and through the first week or so of autumn.

2—Ornamental Oregano ‘Kirigami’ has foliage with great appeal in pale pastel greens, pinks, and cream tones that come together to create an overall calming look. Love a sweet dish of lemon, lime, and raspberry sherbet? These are the colors I’m talking about here. And while the look of Ornamental Oregano ‘Kirigami’ is attractive, its scent is also a drawing card. Perennial in zones 5-8, Ornamental Oregano ‘Kirigami’ is not (repeat NOT) for culinary use. This is a decorative plant only… and a fragrant one, with an unusual, spicy scent that will not overpower passersby but will attract pollinators. Plant it in a hanging pot, and its hops-like foliage will drape down and deliver good looks and unexpected fragrance.

3—‘Grey Lady Plymouth’ Scented Geranium is a fragrant classic, mainly enjoyed as a houseplant. If you’ve had your fill of the novel, never-before-seen plants that have recently hit the market, then try an old-fashioned houseplant that has long been prized for its perfumed oils. ‘Grey Lady Plymouth’ Scented Geranium has fancy, highly cut gray-green foliage… so decorative, it looks lacy. The grayish foliage is enhanced by pink blooms, sparsely positioned to provide just enough color on the plant from time to time. But it’s the hard-to-pinpoint fragrance that will really enchant. Some say that the ‘Grey Lady Plymouth’ Scented Geranium smells like citrus; others, mint; still others, a rose-floral scent. I personally take it to have a mixed scent: not one true note, but a layering of notes of different origins, like a carefully mixed scent from a perfumery. No need to describe…. It’s the overall effect that counts, and the olfactory sense appreciates it.

Sweet Autumn Clematis, Ornamental Oregano ‘Kirigami’, ‘Grey Lady Plymouth’ Scented Geranium…. I am quite convinced that these three favorites of mine may begin to top your list of favorite fragrant plants, as well. By luck, I think I have chosen three plants that show that fragrance does not come at the expense of good looks: Each of these plants is as visually appealing as it is fragrant. And not one of these plants requires extraordinary care. Sweet Autumn Clematis is strong and does well with a close-to-the-ground cutting back each year, once established. Ornamental Oregano ‘Kirigami’ can be taken indoors to overwinter… no worries, no fancy fertilizing routine needed. And the ‘Grey Lady Plymouth’ Scented Geranium has low watering needs and simply requires good drainage and a little deadheading of spent blooms to stay in good form. 

I still say that most lists are a burden. “To Do…” Alright, already. But a list of favorite fragrant plants: Well, that allows me to breathe, and breathe in wonderfully scented air, at that. (Now that’s my kind of list!)